Marshall Broomhall
Encyclopedia
Marshall B. Broomhall (17 July 1866 – 24 October 1937), was a British
Protestant Christian
missionary
to China
with the China Inland Mission
. He also authored many books on the subject of Chinese missionary work. He was the most famous son (the fifth of ten children) of the anti-opium trade activist and General Secretary of the C.I.M. Benjamin Broomhall
and Amelia Hudson Taylor. Thus he was also the nephew of the founder of the mission James Hudson Taylor.
to Newington Green
, London
. At Westbourne Grove, where he was born, the family had been members of the Baptist
Westbourne Grove Church led by William Garrett Lewis
. Marshall's father, Benjamin now began 20 years of service as the China Inland Mission's General Secretary at the London headquarters. In 1887 Marshall went to classical studies at Jesus College
, Cambridge
. After his graduation (B.A.) in 1890, he became engaged to Florence Corderoy , the daughter of his father's close friend, John Corderoy. In the same year Marshall was accepted as a missionary by the C.I.M. London Council.
, Anhui
, and then he was appointed to the work in Taiyuan
, Shanxi
. Three of his siblings (Hudson, Marshall and Edith) had all contracted typhus
there, but all three recovered.
in 1896, to work with Dixon Edward Hoste
, his brother-in-law, and with Gilbert Ritchie, who later married his sister, Edith. The famous Pastor Hsi (Xi Shengmo
) had recently died. The area that Marshall worked in was 40 miles north and south, and 70 miles wide. In 1897 there was a church membership of 490 in 17 villages , with 14 opium
refuges. The churches were largely self-supporting, led by an ordained native pastor, three elders, and 17 deacons. Broomhall worked here for three years.
broke out in China. The China Inland Mission had the greatest loss of all of the mission agencies; seventy-nine people were massacred, including children. As the tragedy unfolded and news was cabled to London, Marshall spent days and nights diligently sorting out information gathered from various sources and verifying rumors that were quickly circulating. His hard work led to the compilation of two memorial books that documented the harrowing stories of both the martyrs and the survivors.
Marshall became an expert in writing biographies. He wrote biographies of Hudson Taylor as well as several other members of the China Inland Mission, as well as several books that addressed overall issues and the history of the C.I.M. He accomplished much considering his eyesight was impaired at an early age. He did all of his research, writing and editorial work despite being able to see with only one eye.
Marshall took part in the Edinburgh
Missionary Conference of 1910. After the 1911/12 founding of the Republic of China
he visited China again, and traveled extensively to obtain first-hand and up to date information. He was a member of the commission on "Carrying the Gospel
to all the Non-Christian World". In this commission constant reference was made to his important work “The Chinese Empire: A General and Missionary Survey”, and to the statistics in it.
One of Broomhall's particular interests was the conversion of Chinese Muslims
to Christianity. To this end, he authored a book (Islam in China, 1910), which he believed to be the first book in English on Chinese Muslims.
He called for sending Arabic-speaking missionaries to China, who in his views could work more effectively among the Muslim community.
In 1927 he retired as Editorial Secretary. But he continued to do his literary work.
In 1936, when the Rev. Frank Houghton
returned to China to be Bishop of East China, Marshall took over briefly the editorship of China's Millions, but ill health forced his complete withdrawal from the work.
He died on 24 October 1937, aged 71, at Northchurch, England and was buried on 28 October in Abney Park Cemetery
, London. Florence Broomhall lived on until 1957.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Protestant Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
with the China Inland Mission
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
. He also authored many books on the subject of Chinese missionary work. He was the most famous son (the fifth of ten children) of the anti-opium trade activist and General Secretary of the C.I.M. Benjamin Broomhall
Benjamin Broomhall
Benjamin Broomhall was a British advocate of foreign missions, administrator of the China Inland Mission, and author. Broomhall served as the General Secretary of the China Inland Mission ,...
and Amelia Hudson Taylor. Thus he was also the nephew of the founder of the mission James Hudson Taylor.
Youth In London
In 1875 the Broomhall family, including 9 year old Marshall moved from BayswaterBayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
to Newington Green
Newington Green
Newington Green is an open space in north London which straddles the border between Islington and Hackney. It gives its name to the surrounding area, roughly bounded by Ball's Pond Road to the south, Petherton Road to the west, the southern section of Stoke Newington with Green Lanes-Matthias Road...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. At Westbourne Grove, where he was born, the family had been members of the Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Westbourne Grove Church led by William Garrett Lewis
William Garrett Lewis
William Garrett Lewis was a Baptist preacher and pastor of Westbourne Grove Church in Bayswater, London for 33 years. He was an apologist author of two books, Westbourne Grove Sermons and The Trades and Industrial Occupations of the Bible, published by the Religious Tract Society.- Influence...
. Marshall's father, Benjamin now began 20 years of service as the China Inland Mission's General Secretary at the London headquarters. In 1887 Marshall went to classical studies at Jesus College
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. After his graduation (B.A.) in 1890, he became engaged to Florence Corderoy , the daughter of his father's close friend, John Corderoy. In the same year Marshall was accepted as a missionary by the C.I.M. London Council.
Missionary Life
Marshall Broomhall sailed for China on 2 October 1890 on the S.S. Shannon. He attended a year at the CIM's Chinese Language School at AnqingAnqing
Anqing is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Anhui province, East China. It borders Lu'an to the north, Chaohu to the northeast, Tongling to the east, Chizhou to the southeast, and the provinces of Jiangxi and Hubei to the south and west respectively....
, Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
, and then he was appointed to the work in Taiyuan
Taiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
. Three of his siblings (Hudson, Marshall and Edith) had all contracted typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
there, but all three recovered.
Marriage and Family
Florence Corderoy followed him to China in 1894, but mission regulations required that they could not marry until both had served for two years on the field. Marshall and Florence were finally married on 17 March 1897. They had 2 children: Honor Irene and Dorothea Broomhall. Marshall had been transferred to Hongdong, ShanxiShanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
in 1896, to work with Dixon Edward Hoste
Dixon Edward Hoste
Dixon Edward Hoste was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China and the longest lived of the Cambridge Seven and successor to James Hudson Taylor as General Director of the China Inland Mission, ....
, his brother-in-law, and with Gilbert Ritchie, who later married his sister, Edith. The famous Pastor Hsi (Xi Shengmo
Xi Shengmo
Xi Sheng Mo 席勝魔 also known as Pastor Hsi, was a Chinese Christian leader.-Life:He was born Xi Liaozhi in a village near Linfen, became a Confucian scholar, and after his conversion to Christianity changed his given name to Shengmo or Conqueror of Demons...
) had recently died. The area that Marshall worked in was 40 miles north and south, and 70 miles wide. In 1897 there was a church membership of 490 in 17 villages , with 14 opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
refuges. The churches were largely self-supporting, led by an ordained native pastor, three elders, and 17 deacons. Broomhall worked here for three years.
Further Work and the Boxer Crisis
Florence's poor health necessitated their leaving for Britain in 1899. In 1900, the Boxer RebellionBoxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
broke out in China. The China Inland Mission had the greatest loss of all of the mission agencies; seventy-nine people were massacred, including children. As the tragedy unfolded and news was cabled to London, Marshall spent days and nights diligently sorting out information gathered from various sources and verifying rumors that were quickly circulating. His hard work led to the compilation of two memorial books that documented the harrowing stories of both the martyrs and the survivors.
Writing and Teaching Career
That same year Marshall Broomhall had been appointed the Editorial Secretary for the mission in London. This career lasted for 27 years. He also gave preliminary Chinese language lessons to the missionary candidates preparing to go to China.Marshall became an expert in writing biographies. He wrote biographies of Hudson Taylor as well as several other members of the China Inland Mission, as well as several books that addressed overall issues and the history of the C.I.M. He accomplished much considering his eyesight was impaired at an early age. He did all of his research, writing and editorial work despite being able to see with only one eye.
Marshall took part in the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
Missionary Conference of 1910. After the 1911/12 founding of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
he visited China again, and traveled extensively to obtain first-hand and up to date information. He was a member of the commission on "Carrying the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
to all the Non-Christian World". In this commission constant reference was made to his important work “The Chinese Empire: A General and Missionary Survey”, and to the statistics in it.
One of Broomhall's particular interests was the conversion of Chinese Muslims
Islam in China
Throughout the history of Islam in China, Chinese Muslims have influenced the course of Chinese history. Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society...
to Christianity. To this end, he authored a book (Islam in China, 1910), which he believed to be the first book in English on Chinese Muslims.
He called for sending Arabic-speaking missionaries to China, who in his views could work more effectively among the Muslim community.
In 1927 he retired as Editorial Secretary. But he continued to do his literary work.
In 1936, when the Rev. Frank Houghton
Frank Houghton
Frank Houghton was a Anglican missionary bishop and author.Houghton was born in Stafford and educated at London University and ordained in 1917. He held curacies at St Benedict, Everton and All Saints, Preston before heading to China as a missionary. He was Bishop of Eastern Szechwan from...
returned to China to be Bishop of East China, Marshall took over briefly the editorship of China's Millions, but ill health forced his complete withdrawal from the work.
He died on 24 October 1937, aged 71, at Northchurch, England and was buried on 28 October in Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
, London. Florence Broomhall lived on until 1957.
Published works
(1901) (see List of the Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission in 1900)- Last Letters and Further Records of Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission (1901)
- In Memoriam: Hudson Taylor's Legacy (1905) (1906)
- The Chinese Empire: A General and Missionary Survey (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott and CIM, 1907) (1908)
- Faith and Facts, as Illustrated in the History of the China Inland Mission (Marshall, Morgan & Scott and CIM, 1909)
- The Jubilee Story of the China Inland Mission (1915) (A 1966 reprint by Paragon Book Reprint is available)
- Heirs Together of the Grace of Life: Benjamin Broomhall and Amelia Hudson Broomhall (1918) (Benjamin BroomhallBenjamin BroomhallBenjamin Broomhall was a British advocate of foreign missions, administrator of the China Inland Mission, and author. Broomhall served as the General Secretary of the China Inland Mission ,...
) - John Whiteford Stevenson, One of Christ's Stalwarts (1919) (John Whiteford Stevenson)
- Selling All to Buy The Field (bef 1920?)
- In Quest of God, the Life Story of Pastors Chang & Chü (1921)
- F. W. Baller, a Master of the Pencil (1923) (see Frederick W. BallerFrederick W. BallerFrederick William Baller was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, Chinese linguist, translator, educator and sinologist.- Missionary career:...
) - Marshall FengFeng YuxiangFeng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
: A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ (1923) (Feng YuxiangFeng YuxiangFeng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
) - Robert Morrison, A Master Builder (1924) (Robert Morrison)
- W. W. Cassells, First Bishop in Western China (1926) (William Wharton Cassells, one of the Cambridge SevenCambridge SevenThe Cambridge Seven were seven students from Cambridge University, who in 1885, decided to become missionaries in China; the seven were:*Charles Thomas Studd*Montagu Harry Proctor Beauchamp*Stanley P. Smith*Arthur T. Polhill-Turner*Dixon Edward Hoste...
) - Hudson Taylor, the Man Who Believed God (1929) (biography of Hudson TaylorHudson TaylorJames Hudson Taylor , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission . Taylor spent 51 years in China...
) - Archibald Orr Ewing, That Faithful and Wise Steward (1930) (Archibald Orr Ewing)
- Hudson Taylor's Legacy (1931)
- Our Seal: The Witness of the China Inland Mission to the Faithfulness of God (1933)
- To What Purpose? (biography of Emil FischbacherEmil FischbacherEmil Fischbacher 巴醫生 was a Scottish Protestant Christian missionary to Xinjiang. He served with the China Inland Mission.Fischbacher was born in Glasgow, Scotland, 9 August 1903....
) (1933) - The Bible in China (1934)
- By Love Compelled: The Call of the China Inland Mission (1936)